Category: Weekend Cryptic

In this puzzle I was delighted to find, like a shiny prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box, a word heretofore utterly unknown to me, and which I can’t even imagine running across … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4901, by Dean Mayer — Paint It, Red”

It’s a beautiful, sparkling autumn day as I write this blog in the Emerald City, so I found it a little ironic that my last answer in was the one with the Oz reference. Never … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27654 – Saturday, 2 May 2020. Follow the Yellow Brick Road.”

9:53. A fairly straightforward puzzle from Harry this week, with nothing unknown to me in the answers and only one unfamiliar city in the wordplay. A few rather painfully topical clues in this age of … Read more “Sunday Times 4900 by David McLean – pandemic edition”

This was a delightful exercise. The most notable feature was how often I saw a probable answer, but hesitated to write it in because I couldn’t see why … in most cases to eventually smile … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27648 – Saturday, 25 April 2020. Happiness is a crossword.”

Has it already been two weeks since I last blogged? Seems like only yesterday… Although the time before mid-March seems long ago and far away. Hope you’re all well and staying safe. I’m writing this … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4899, by Robert Price — On the (short)wavelength”

This was something of a battle. I enjoyed the challenge, except perhaps when I stalled over my last two outstanding, the Mediterranean 14ac and the Gothic 4dn. If I’d known the shared letter where they … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27642 – Saturday, 18 April 2020. Mediterranean Gothic Crossroads.”

22:20. I’m writing this on Saturday evening, having just watched Brief Encounter with my wife. I’d like to thank jackkt in particular and others for recommending it, because it is a really wonderful movie. The … Read more “Sunday Times 4898 by Dean Mayer”

This puzzle felt somewhat harder than the average Saturday puzzle, with a special mention for obscure vocabulary and neologisms. I didn’t know 1ac, although the meaning is clear, nor 9ac or 13ac, and I felt … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27636 – Saturday, 11 April 2020. Worshippers of obscure gods.”

Not only am I (are we) virtually confined to quarters—at best allowed out for a little while each day to STRETCH ONE’S LEGS—but my ancient printer has decided to die on me, so I haven’t … Read more “Sunday Times Cryptic 4897, by David McLean — That rainy day feeling again”

Winter is approaching this side of the globe, and so the crossword now appears in time to tackle, and in this case to finish, before lunch. Joy! I often find the quickest way into a … Read more “Times Cryptic No 27630 – Saturday, 4 April 2020. Back to front.”